


all we need to mend these hearts

by Bara_no_Uta



Series: Finding Meaning in [E]ternity [8]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Ending E (NieR: Automata), Slow Burn, kinda suggestive but not really nsfw?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27338200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bara_no_Uta/pseuds/Bara_no_Uta
Summary: “What is a bath?”The question caught 2B off guard. Since A2 was an older unit, 2B had assumed she would also be more knowledgeable. But A2 had spent almost her entire life working in complete isolation, so now that she thought about it, it made sense that she might not know certain terms. “With our current resources, it’s washing your body and relaxing in the water.”“So… I stand in the water and do cleaning maintenance?” Without even undressing, she waded into the water. It wasn’t exactly like she had much coverage in the first place at this point.…Not exactly, and she was doing things out of order. “Is it… okay if I join you, and help you with what to do?”---A2 needs a bath, some maintenance, and some actual clothes. 2B decides to make sure she's taken care of, and A2 starts to open up.Part of a series, but can be read as standalone.
Relationships: 2B/A2 (NieR: Automata)
Series: Finding Meaning in [E]ternity [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892593
Kudos: 23





	all we need to mend these hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Let's face it we all know A2 needs a bath!! And some actual clothes omfg A2 pls you're literally running around with one (1) scrap of cloth and like not even half of your boots still in tact. Everything else is literally whatever androids have underneath their artificial skin.
> 
> The outfits referenced at the end are some the DLC outfits for Zero in Drakengard 3, because it felt weird to give A2 the Destroyer Outfit without her completing the arena, but I also wanted something that fit the universe. The outfit she ended up choosing is the one based on adult Manah's outfit in Drakengard 2.  
> https://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140307154452/drakengard/images/0/0b/DD3_Zero_DLC_Outfit_-_Manah.png

2B stretched her arm and flexed her fingers as she and A2 left the Resistance camp. “It’s not quite the same as the Bunker, but Popola and Devola’s maintenance is skillful enough we shouldn’t need to worry for a while.”

Perhaps it was a temporary fix, since the continued existence of YoRHa units was a secret, so if they ran out of parts from the access points, they might be in trouble. But there were enough parts there to keep them going for a while, especially now that they rarely had reason to fight. In this case, a wild boar had caught 2B off guard as the herbs from her satchel had become old enough not to emit as strong a scent. Now she had a fresh satchel, the torn synthetic skin had been replaced, and her fingers which she had landed on badly were repaired.

A2 smiled wryly. She hadn’t received maintenance even once since deserting, though she could sometimes feel the impact of her lower-quality self-conducted maintenance decreasing her efficacy in battle. She was glad that 2B didn’t neglect her own maintenance, but she felt hypocritical for thinking that way.

Meanwhile, 2B bit her lip as she looked up and down A2’s body, her thoughts having gone in a similar direction. “Speaking of maintenance…”

She probably should have seen this coming. A2 tried to act casual, as though she weren’t internally bracing herself for the question.

“Why have you neglected yours?” That much was clear. While she could understand if A2 felt reluctant about using YoRHa parts for repairs, it only took a glance at her face to see that A2 didn’t even bother with regular cleaning. Between this and lacking coverage of artificial skin in so many places, there was a high risk of foreign substances like sand entering her joints, which meant that A2 was putting herself in danger. …She hoped that wasn’t intentional.

A2 shifted, trying to figure out how to answer the question. She wanted to be honest with 2B in order to honor her promise to be more open with her, and yet she was reluctant to share such grim thoughts. “Until recently, the only thing I could actually _feel_ was pain. It was a welcome break from feeling completely empty.”

She was glad to hear that at least it was different now. Honestly, 2B understood what it was like to feel so overwhelmed with emotional pain that she couldn’t feel anything at all, and she wished A2 hadn’t ever had to feel that way. She couldn’t do anything about the past, but she hoped that her support was helping A2 to feel better in the present. “And now?”

She considered the question. Some of it was habit and some of it was apathy toward her own life. After all, if her lack of maintenance killed her… she wouldn’t be upset about that. Even so, she knew that telling 2B that would hurt her, so she chose to withhold that. “It doesn’t seem that important.”

“The persistent discomfort doesn’t bother you?” There was no way she could believe it wasn’t uncomfortable.

A2 shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

2B’s mouth set into a determined line. _A2 deserves better than this._ She would _show_ A2 that she deserved better. “I’m going to provide you maintenance. There’s no reason for you to continue to withstand discomfort.”

Amusement flickered through her eyes, wondering how exactly 2B thought she would provide her maintenance. Aside from the same rudimentary repairs that she could do on her own, that wasn’t something B-types – or E-types – were particularly suited for, after all. “If you want to.”

Certain that she wanted to, 2B nodded. “I need to get something from home. Come with me?”

“Sure.”

They went in, and 2B retrieved a basket full of things that A2 didn’t recognize. Once they were side by side again, 2B started to lead her toward a suitably deep river. “While it is less efficient, now that we are no longer bound by time constraints or missions… I have learned that taking baths is a pleasant way to conduct cleaning maintenance.”

A bath, huh? She had heard the term before, but because she had been sent down to Earth as soon as her training was complete and had been isolated ever since that mission, she wasn’t really familiar with the details. As far as she knew, it was some human thing. “What is a bath?”

The question caught 2B off guard. Since A2 was an older unit, 2B had assumed she would also be more knowledgeable. But A2 had spent almost her entire life working in complete isolation, so now that she thought about it, it made sense that she might not know certain terms. “With our current resources, it’s washing your body and relaxing in the water.”

2B thought back to the Bunker, where they had had the option of washing themselves first, then getting to relax in warm and clean bathwater. She typically hadn’t done it due to viewing it as inefficient, but now that she knew how pointless her mission had been and only had cold river water, she wished she had indulged more.

“So… I stand in the water and do cleaning maintenance?” Without even undressing, she waded into the water. It wasn’t exactly like she had much coverage in the first place at this point.

…Not exactly, and she was doing things out of order. “Is it… okay if I join you, and help you with what to do?”

2B sounded tentative, and she didn’t really understand why. “Of course.”

Her face was starting to overheat slightly. “I’m not sure if your generation was different, but I… don’t usually clean myself with my clothes on. They get in the way of cleaning my body thoroughly.”

“I wouldn’t have before, but…” Well, why not. It wasn’t like the remnants of her clothing offered much coverage anyway. A2 removed the scrap of cloth from her abdomen and what was left of what used to be her boots.

The sorry state of what remained of A2’s outfit made her a bit sad, and 2B decided that getting A2 a new outfit was next on their priorities. …Maybe she should consider a new outfit for herself, too. Now that they were no longer affiliated with YoRHa, it felt a bit wrong to continue wearing her uniform.

When she noticed A2 looking at her as though waiting, 2B realized that she needed to undress as well. She turned her back and began to remove her clothing. She felt A2’s gaze on her back quickly avert elsewhere, which she was grateful for. They were both female units, so there was no reason to feel shy, but… the idea of A2 seeing her undressed made her feel warm and nervous in a way that she could only guess to be shyness.

When 2B turned around, A2’s gaze was pointedly off in the distance, her face inexplicably a bit pink. Maybe she felt this same odd shyness that 2B was feeling?

2B got into the water behind her, crossing one arm over her chest as the water reached barely above their waists. Technically A2 was much more exposed than she was, but since this was about how she was used to seeing her, it felt as though she was far more exposed than A2. “You can turn around.”

When she did, A2’s gaze momentarily dropped, taking in the sight of 2B’s body before she caught herself.

“I usually wash my hair first. …Can I help you wash your hair?”

Truthfully, she hadn’t washed it since it had grown long like this, so that would be helpful. “Sure.” She turned her back to 2B.

2B removed everything from the bucket and filled it with water. “Tilt your head back?”

“This is where the equipment on the Bunker was helpful,” A2 quipped, well aware that it was likely she would end up with water in her face.

“I’ll do my best not to get it in your eyes,” she promised. Once A2’s hair was wet, she began to work the soap through. Resources were limited, so androids didn’t have shampoo or conditioner, but they still needed to get dirt and other grime out of their hair.

Tension she hadn’t even realized she was carrying seeped out of her body. She had received maintenance from others before, back when she was on the Bunker, but never with this kind of care. “Is this what maintenance was like on the Bunker for your generation?” she quipped.

2B smiled. “I wish. No, I typically conducted my maintenance efficiently. After all, I thought I had an important mission.”

“Hmm.” She felt the familiar rise of anger at Command as she thought about that, as well as her own time on the Bunker. “I never want to see any of Command again, but… I agree with you about wanting answers.”

2B tilted her head. “Any of Command? –Tilt your head back again.”

Definitely not wanting the soap to end up in her mouth, A2 waited before responding.

Able to infer the reason, 2B waited, focused on getting the soap out of A2’s hair. Once she was satisfied, she said, “Let me help you wash your body. Turn around?” After so long of neglecting herself and feeling her own wellbeing didn’t matter, not to mention being completely alone, 2B felt she deserved to be taken care of for once.

A2 wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary, since she knew how to wash herself. But part of her really liked the idea of 2B touching her, so she decided she would prefer to go along with it. She turned around, finally continuing her sentence as 2B put soap on the washcloth and held her hand, starting to wash her arm. “Commander, Futaba, and Yotsuba.” She was furious with all of them for abandoning her squadron, though right now that was tempered by the calm from 2B’s current actions.

“Futaba? Yotsuba?”

A2’s eyebrows rose, and then understanding dawned on her. She had never taken the time to think about it, so she hadn’t put the pieces together before, but if each unit now had their own Operator… From what she had heard, it sounded like those Operators had a similar role to Futaba and Yotsuba, and she hadn’t seen the two of them in 2B’s memories, so… perhaps they no longer had a role at the Bunker after her generation. “I suppose they were my generation’s Operators. We only had two for all of us, but we were only a squadron of 16 and were meant to be working together the whole time we were on land… If they weren’t at the Bunker, I wonder what they’re doing now.”

Realistically, she felt less angry with Futaba and Yotsuba than she felt toward Commander. While they could have objected harder or tried to go behind her back, ultimately, they were probably little more than pawns. She couldn’t quite forgive them for playing a role in that situation, but they were less accountable for its results.

“I didn’t know YoRHa had any named units outside of our Commander,” 2B said, thinking about it. They had “names,” in the sense of having their own unique model number and type, but not real names like that.

She wasn’t sure if Futaba and Yotsuba were actually YoRHa models or not. If they were, then they were sure to be dead now. If not, well, they might still be dead. Since they hadn’t seemed to have any problem with Command leaving her and the rest of her squadron for dead, she couldn’t exactly say she was heartbroken about the possibility.

It reminded her of Seed, though. …Maybe Futaba and Yotsuba were disposed of like Seed was, if they knew too much about YoRHa.

“Turn around so I can wash your back?” 2B asked. She had washed both of A2’s arms and her shoulders, but planned to hand over the washcloth so that A2 could wash the rest of her body herself. Aside from her face, the rest of her body felt a bit too private for 2B to wash.

She obliged. 2B touching her back distracted her from her previous thoughts. The nerve endings on her back felt overly sensitive everywhere 2B touched, almost as though there were sparks of electricity in 2B’s fingers, and yet the feeling was a good one. She wanted 2B to keep touching her…

A2 noticed her internal temperature rising. Was she in danger of overheating? Why was her body becoming warm? She decided to keep an eye on it, but not to interrupt the moment.

When 2B reached the small of A2’s back, A2 shivered, and 2B froze. “Sorry, was that cold?”

A2 shook her head, though she didn’t understand what had just run through her body either. “Maybe I am overdue maintenance after all,” she conceded.

She had never seen _that_ happen to A2 before, though. Just as confused as A2, she could only make a mental note to make sure that they went to Devola and Popola after this to get her some more maintenance.

Soon, A2’s back was clean and the soap rinsed off. 2B moved to face her. “Do you want me to wash your face, or do you want to do it yourself?”

“Since we don’t have a mirror… if you don’t mind, that would help.” There was no reason to be shy now, and anyway, she wasn’t going to say no to being close to 2B some more.

2B was extra gentle as she scrubbed away at the dirt on A2’s face. Honestly, she was a little afraid of accidentally peeling off another segment of her skin. But soon, A2’s face was clean. It was funny – maybe it was their different hairstyles or the different way they carried themselves, but even though she knew that their faces were technically identical, she didn’t at all feel like she was looking in a mirror. A2 was her own person, as was she. Certainly, the resemblance was apparent, but since they shared quite a bit of resemblance with all YoRHa units, that didn’t mean much.

Once her face was clean, 2B handed A2 the washcloth and soap. “You should probably do the rest yourself.”

That made sense. A2 accepted them. “After I finish cleaning myself, can I help you, too?”

Her face felt warm again as she looked away. “If you’d like to.”

“I would. …This was nice. I want to let you experience it too.”

She felt joy and appreciation rise in her chest. The way she and A2 supported one another felt comfortable and safe, and she was deeply grateful for it. It was strange, because she felt comfortable and safe around 9S too, and yet the feelings she had for them were different.

…Could it be? A sudden realization occurred to her. In her memory, she went through as many things as she could recall hearing and reading about love.

She was in love with A2. Which now was definitely _not_ the time to think about. Even if she was right about her own feelings, there was no guarantee that A2 felt the same way, so she would have to decide whether she wanted to risk saying something.

Once A2 finished washing her body, she rinsed the washcloth. “Can I wash your back?”

That brought 2B out of her thoughts. “Sure.”

When 2B turned around, A2 began to wash her back, just as 2B had done for her. She didn’t know how to express her appreciation properly in words, but this felt like a perfect way to show her.

2B sighed in contentment, leaning back slightly into A2’s touch.

When she was finished washing 2B’s back, A2 reached around to gently move hair from her face. “Tip your head back?”

2B obliged as she listened to the sound of A2 filling a bucket.

She hesitated, trying to figure out how to do this without dumping water down 2B’s face. While her own hair had once been the same style, she hadn’t ever had to try to wash it with a bucket. Asking for help made her uncomfortable, but surely for something like this, it would be alright. “Can you show me how to not get water in your face?”

2B smiled, amused, but grateful that A2 was taking care with this. “Of course.” She turned her body to take the bucket from A2. Lifting it, she paused when it was in the right spot. “Right about here,” she said, tilting the bucket so that the water cascaded down onto her hair.

“Thanks.” A2 managed a small smile as she began to work soap through 2B’s hair. It took far less time than her own due to how much shorter it was. “My hair used to be the same as yours. Did you know that?”

The sudden topic caught 2B by surprise, but she quickly realized what this was. A2 was trying to start sharing her past, perhaps little by little. Knowing how hard it was for her to talk about, 2B appreciated the show of trust. “I didn’t. I knew that all female Number 2 models have this style, but I wasn’t sure if that was true of your generation or not.”

She nodded, thinking carefully about how she wanted to proceed. She was already finished washing 2B’s hair, only needing to rinse the soap out, but continued to move her hands through it absentmindedly. Somehow, it was easier to talk like this, without 2B looking directly at her. “Did you know any Number 4 models?”

While aware A2 had probably finished with her hair by now, she also recognized that this was a conversation that A2 needed to have on her own terms, so 2B continued to keep her back turned. “I was briefly in a squadron that included 4B. I can’t say I knew her well, but we trained together a bit beforehand.”

A2 took a slightly shaky breath, filling the bucket with water as an excuse to give herself time to decide whether she wanted to proceed. “Tilt your head back?” When 2B did, she held the bucket, then paused. “About here?”

2B lifted her hands to feel the position of the bucket. “That feels right.”

A small spark of happiness flickered in her chest when she succeeded at helping 2B wash her hair. Perhaps it was silly, but for some reason it made her happy to be able to care for 2B in this way. Once all the soap was rinsed out, she shifted so that she and 2B were facing one another, taking one of 2B’s hands in her own as she washed 2B’s arm.

2B didn’t push, even though she really wanted to know more about A2’s past and was wondering where the conversation had been going. A2 had told her it was overwhelming to talk about, and she didn’t want to rush things. Presumably, A2 had known the prototype Number 4 unit in some capacity. She could infer that much, but that was all.

When A2 had finished washing 2B’s arms, she carefully washed her face, doing almost exactly as 2B had for her. To her surprise, she found herself smiling as she ran the washcloth over 2B’s cheek. It was such a simple thing, but it made her feel light inside to be close to her in this way.

When A2 was finished, she handed 2B the washcloth and soap, trying very hard not to let her gaze drift back down to 2B’s chest. When 2B accepted the objects, she walked a short distance away so that her back was to 2B. She could probably get out of the water and put her clothes back on now that she was clean, but her “clothes” were so little that it felt pointless anyway. “Will you tell me about her? 4B.” While she had received 2B’s memories, she tried not to poke through them in detail. It didn’t feel like her business, so she mostly had only accessed things that made a strong enough impression she hadn’t had any choice, and things that had been recent enough that she had felt them in her short-term memory at first.

“Sure. From what I knew of her… she was determined. Loyal to the mission, although maybe that was more her type-B programming. Brave, focused.”

A2 frowned in confusion, actually turning to look at 2B quizzically. “She wasn’t playful or silly?”

2B shook her head. “Maybe if I had known her outside of preparing for combat… but not in the time I knew her.”

They had changed the Number 4 personality data. Did that mean they had _thrown away_ her friend’s data? Hot anger coursed through her, and she decided to get out of the water and put her shoes back on so that at least she would have something to do with her hands.

Maybe she shouldn’t say anything. 2B went back and forth on whether to speak up at all before finally asking, “Was the Number 4 that you knew different?”

The sound of 2B’s voice had a way of calming her. She was still angry, but it felt more tolerable now. “Number 4… Attacker Number 4… was a loyal friend. She cared about the mission, but not as much as she cared about her allies. She was kind. Sometimes she seemed silly, but… it was only because she knew how to cheer us up. No matter how hard things got, she was always… bright.” Optimistic wasn’t quite the right word. But even when Number 4 knew that they were going to die, she had refused to let it get her down. “There are times I’m not sure we could have kept going without her.”

That did sound different from 4B. She didn’t really understand why A2 was angry about that, though. “She sounds like a good person to have on your team.”

A2 could only nod, her hands clenched into fists. “She was.”

They were silent as 2B finished washing, wondering if A2 was going to continue or not. Once she was finished, she stepped out of the water and shook her body to allow some of the excess water to drip off her artificial skin. Androids tried to conserve supplies when possible, since the earth’s resources were so depleted compared to the past, so they didn’t typically use towels. After all, it wasn’t like an android could catch cold from not drying their hair.

She was afraid to ask what 21O would be like. No matter what, she would be reminded of her old ally, Number 21, and she wasn’t sure whether it would be more painful if 21O was similar to her or not. But… they would be waking up soon, and she would rather prepare herself. She had learned from 2B’s memories that this unit was 9S’s Operator, but she hadn’t gotten any strong impressions about her from the memories. “Will you tell me about 21O?”

“21O… I didn’t know her well. She was 9S’s Operator, so sometimes I heard about her from him. I know she was analytical. She always seemed calm, but from the things he said of their conversations from time to time, I know she cared about him deeply.”

A soft, pained laugh escaped her lips. “That sounds exactly like Number 21.”

2B finished fastening her skirt, and then fully dressed, she came closer to put a hand on A2’s arm. “If you would prefer not to meet her, I understand.”

“…I need to think about it.”

She nodded. “Can we go to the Resistance camp and ask Devola and Popola to do the rest of your maintenance?”

A2 looked down at her body. In some ways, her tattered chassis had felt symbolic. If she was trying to let that go now and start to heal… that was probably for the best. She managed a small smile as she quipped, “Only if they also have some new clothes. I don’t think it would be appropriate to walk around in only this once I have artificial skin again.” She waved the scrap of fabric that normally covered her abdomen, which seemed pointless to put back on.

2B smiled back, glad to see A2 feeling well enough to make a joke. “I hope they do.”

The two set off for the Resistance camp, where they approached the twins. As soon as they arrived, A2 found herself hesitating to ask for help.

Fortunately, 2B had no problem stepping in when she saw A2 tense up. “Can you provide A2 with maintenance? You might need parts, but she’s a YoRHa unit just like me.”

“I’ve been doing my own maintenance for a few years now. It probably hasn’t been great.”

Popola gave Devola a slightly scolding look, proactively forbidding her from agreeing with that statement. It had been apparent from a glance that A2 had neglected her maintenance, but they owed her, 2B, and 9S, so she didn’t want Devola to make fun of her.

Devola caught Popola’s eye and suppressed the urge to comment on it, though not without a look that told Popola she believed giving her that look to have been overkill. After having only each other for 8,000 years, the two of them could reach each other extremely well, so even complex ideas could often be communicated without even needing words.

Instead of agreeing with her, Devola said, “I’m guessing you’ll want some new clothes too. Let me see what we’ve got in stock.”

Popola began to scan A2 to see what would need fixing so that they could gather all the requisite parts ahead of time. Artificial skin was a given, but since that was fairly easy to tear, they had plenty of it among their supplies… although covering an entire body in it might exhaust that stock. When she had finished, she started looking through the supplies they had on hand to see if they had everything, or if they would need to gather more.

While Popola was looking through their supplies, Devola returned with a pile of clothing in her arms. There were only four, so she laid them side-by-side over one of the beds.

There was a long-sleeved knee-length white dress, a very similar dress with some armor over it, some sort of white dress that revealed more than it covered, and two black outfits that consisted of a shirt and pants. One had some rather uncomfortable-looking armor, so she chose the other: a short-sleeved black shirt paired with tight black pants.

“It looks like we have all the parts we need,” Popola said as Devola brought the other clothes back to storage. “Lie down on the bed?”

A2 complied. She felt nervous putting her safety into the hands of someone else, but when she caught 2B’s eye and saw her watching, she relaxed. She knew 2B wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“You might want to shut down your systems while we’re working. It won’t feel good to be awake while we’re fixing your wires…”

“…Fine.” She closed her eyes and did as Popola asked. When she opened her eyes again, having been rebooted by the twins, a curtain was drawn around her. Looking down at her body, she understood why. It finally looked like a proper body again.

Devola handed her the clothing she had picked out. “You’re all done. Good as new.”

She touched her chest and one of her arms, almost disbelieving that this could be her body again. It would take some time to get used to this, but admittedly, she could already tell it was more comfortable. “Thank you.” She slipped the clothing on, then stepped out of the medical area.

Both 2B and Anemone were waiting for her, and she felt a bit self-conscious, wondering what they would think. She looked completely different from how 2B had ever known her, and this outfit wasn’t like anything she had worn before.

2B took in the sight of A2 and smiled. Not only because she looked good – though that was most certainly true as well – but more so because A2 had finally taken care of herself. She wasn’t walking around in a damaged body looking like she didn’t care if she lived or died anymore.

When A2 smiled back, Anemone smiled too, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You look good. Happier.” Maybe happier than Anemone had ever seen her, although the bar for that was distressingly low.

_I feel happier_ , she noted, but she decided to let her smile speak for itself. “Thank you.”


End file.
